Fire protection system with hydraulically timed discharge

ABSTRACT

A fire protection system with hydraulically timed discharge includes timing means operated by flow of a predetermined volume of liquid to send a signal for cutting off flow of liquid to the main fire protection system.

United States Patent inventors Simon Greenberg Worcester;

Donald R. Tremblay, Oxford, Mass.

Appl. No. 779,477 Filed Nov. 27, 1968 Patented Mar. 9, 1971 AssigneeGul1'& Western Precision Engineering Company Manchester, Conn.

FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM WITH HYDRAULICALLY TIMED DISCHARGE 4 Claims, 6Drawing Figs.

Int. Cl

Field of Search 169/2, 7, 19, 20; 239/71, 74; 137/624] 1, 624.14;251/25;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1951 Rider 169/19X 12/1958Miller 25 l/25X 3/1959 Roberts 169/11 5/1962 Hibbert et a1 137/624.14X10/1965 Lilly et a1 137/624.14 6/1967 Frick 137/624.14

Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Michael Y. MarAttorney-Meyer, Tilberry and Body ABSTRACT: A fire protection systemwith hydraulically timed discharge includes timing means operated by Howof a predetermined volume of liquid to send a signal for cutting offflow of liquid to the main fire protection system.

PATENITEUQAR elsn SHEET 1' BF 2 INVENTOR.

8? ATTORNEYS,

FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM WITH HYDRAULICALLY TIMED DISCHARGE I BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION This application pertains to the art of fire protectionsystems and more particularly to fire protection systems forinstallation in buildings and including timing means for cutting off themain discharge. The invention is particularly applicable to foamgenerating type of fire protection systems and will be described withparticular reference thereto, although it will be appreciated that theinvention has broader application in any system where a hydraulicallytimed cutoff is desired.

Many buildings are commonly provided with built-in fire preventionsystems including pipes and sprinklers running overhead for dischargingfire smothering liquid into the building. Certain production facilitiesand warehouses require a foaming-type fire smothering material due tothe nature of material processed or stored in the building. For example,storage of rubber or other similar combustible materials make itdesirable to have a foam generating system which will completely fill aroom with fire smothering foam within a certain period of time. In manyinstallations of this type the foam generating system is required tocompletely fill a room with fire smothering foam within a few minutes.Once the room is completely filled with foam it is desired to cut offsome of the foam generators so that foam does not run into other areasof the building whereitis not needed and may damage expensive equipment.At the same time, it is desirable to keep some foam generation going tomaintain the room filled with foam, because foam dissipates quiterapidly. In conventional systems an electrical timer is used to cut offthe main foam generators after a predetermined period of time whichcorresponds with the time it takes to fill a room with foam. Theelectrical system is usually one of the first things to go out during afire and may itself be the cause of the fire. With failure of theelectrical system the electrical timer does not cut off the foamdischarge devices and excessive foam will be generated. After a relatively short period of time the foaming solution will be completelydissipated. When this occurs plain water will be discharged through thefoam generators to rapidly dissipate the foam in the room and this isvery undesirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention a fireprevention system including foam generators for filling a room with foamin a few minutes includes a hydraulic timing circuit for cutting off thefoam generators after a predetermined period of time. The timing circuitis operated by the same hydraulic source that supplies liquid to thefoam generators. In one form of the invention an automatic control valveis placed in the line between the main water supply and the foamgenerators. A secondary line leads from the water supply to a retardchamber through a metering orifice. Water from the main supply fills thechamber through the metering orifice at a predetermined rate. When thechamber is filled a pressure is developed to switch a control valvewhich then sends a pres-. sure signal to the automatic valve between thewater supply and the foam generators to cut off liquid flow to the foamgenerators. In another aspect of the invention a mechanical timer may beoperated by flow of a predetermined volume of liquid past a certainpoint. The mechanical timer then trips a mechanism to close the valvebetween the foam generators and the water supply.

It is a principle object of this invention to provide a foam generatingfire smothering system with hydraulically operated timing means forcutting off flow of liquid to the foam generators after a predeterminedperiod of time.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a hydraulictiming control which is operated by flow of liquid from the same mainwater supply which supplies the foam generators.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a hydraulic timingcircuit which completely eliminates the need for electrical energy fromthe main building wiring.

It is another object of this invention to provide a hydraulic timingcontrol which sends pressure signals to an automatic control valve forshutting off the automatic valve after a predetermined period of time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a fireprevention system incorporating the hydraulic timing circuit of thisinvention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a fire prevention system incorporatinga modified hydraulic timing circuit in accordance with this invention. I

FIG. 3 is a view of a further form of hydraulic timing circuit inaccordance with this invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevational diagrammatic view of'a valve for usewith the hydraulic timing circuit of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional elevational diagrammatic view of another valve foruse with the hydraulic timing circuit of this invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevational diagrammatic view of another valve foruse with the hydraulic timing circuit of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention may take physicalform in certain parts and arrangement of parts, a preferred embodimentof which will be described in detail in the specification andillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a foam generating fire prevention system which can beincorporated into a building or the room of a building in a well-knownmanner. A main valve A is connected with the main water supply of thebuilding. Valve A may be either manually operated or heat sensitive tobe actuated by heat from any fire occuring within the building or room.in which valve A is installed. A line 10 leads from valve A to aseparating point 12 from which lines 14 and 16 extend. Line 14 leads toan automatic control valve B which may be a cylinder-operated valveactuated by pressure acting against the cylinder. A line 18 leads fromautomatic valve B to a separating point 20 from which lines 22 and 24extend. Line 22 leads to a tank C containing foam producing solution. Aline 26 leads from foam tank C through a metering orifice 28 and checkvalve 30 to a flow proportioning device 32. Flow proportioning device 32is also connected with line 24 and may take the form of a venturi formixing plain water from line 24 with a desirable quantity of water andfoam producing solution from line 26. Line 34 leads from flowproportioning device 32 to a plurality of foam generators D which aredistributed throughout a building or room. Foam generators D may be ofthe conventional well-known type including a .screen and fan whereinwater mixed with foam producing solution flows from line 34 past screensthrough which the fans are blowing air to cause the formation of foam.Line 16 leads from separating point 12 to another separating point 36from which lines 38 and 40 extend. Line 38 extends to a valve E which isnormally open cylinder valve operable to close by pressure actingagainst a cylinder. Line 42 leads from valve E to separating point 44from which lines 46 and 48 extend. Line 48 extends to one end 50 ofautomatic valve B. Line 46 extends from separating point 44 to anormally closed valve H which may be a cylinder-operated valve operatedto open by pressure against a cylinder A. Line 52 leading from valve His open to atmosphere and defines an exhaust for valve H. Line 40 leadsfrom separating point 36 through a metering orifice 54 to a retardchamber I which is simply a closed container. A line 56 leads fromretard chamber J to a separating point 58 from which lines 60 and 62extend. Line 60 leads to the other side 64 of valve B to act against theother end of the cylinder within valve B. Line 62 has line 66 leadingfrom it to cylinder end 68 of valve E and line 70 leading to cylinderend 72 of valve H.

In operation of the arrangement of FIG. 1, valve A is opened eithermanually or automatically when a fire exists within the room orbuilding. Water than flows through line 10, through line 16, throughline 38, through normally open valve E, through line 42, and throughline 48 to end 50 of automatic valve B. The pressure in line 48 actingagainst the cylinder at end 50 of valve B shifts the cylinder to openvalve B for flow of water through lines 14 and 18. Water flowing fromline 14 through valve B exits through line 18 where it then flowsthrough line 22 to foam tank C. Water pressure forces foam producingsolution from foam tank C through line 26, metering orifice 28, andcheck valve 30 to proportioning flow controller 32. Water also flowsfrom line 18 past separating point 20 and through line 24 toproportioning flow controller 32. The foam producing solution from line26 is mixed with water from line 24 in proportioning flow controller 32and exits in line 34 leading to foam generators D. A sufficient numberof foam generators D are provided to completely fill the room orbuilding with foam within a calculated time period such as around 4minutes. Once the building or room is filled with foam it is desirableto cut off foam generation. It may be desirable to cut off the supply offoam producing solution to foam generators D and for this purpose aretard chamber J is provided. Retard chamber J is connected with themain water supply through valve A, line 10, line 16, metering orifice 54and line 40. The volume capacity of retard chamber J is determined sothat it will take a predetermined time such as around 4 minutes to fillit through a constant flow metering orifice 54. Once retard chamber J isfilled, lines 56, 60 and 62 become pressurized. Pressurization of line62 causes pressure to be exerted through line 66 against the cylinder atend 68 of valve E. This closes valve E so that pressure can no longer beexerted from line 38 through valve E to line 48 against cylinder end 50of valve B. At the same time, pressure within line 70 leading from line62 acts against cylinder end 72 of valve H to open valve H. This placesline 48 in communication with atmosphere through valve H to exhaust line52 and relieves the pressure in line 48 so that there is no longer anypressure acting against cylinder end 50 of valve B. Meanwhile, line 60has become pressurized and creates a pressure acting against cylinderend 64 of valve B to close valve B so that liquid can no longer flowfrom line 14 through valve B to line 13. This completely cuts off themain supply of liquid for foam generators D and shuts the system down.The system may be reset by closing valve A and draining retard chamber Jas through valve 157 to relieve pressure in the lines. This will causevalve E to return to its normally open position and valve H to return toits normally closed position. Valve A can then be reopened to start thewhole cycle over again.

It will be noted that the arrangement of FIG. 1 requires two valves inthe hydraulic timing circuit H and E. Also, line 60 for exerting apressure against cylinder end 64 of valve B to close the valve B is at alower pressure than that from the main supply through valve A due to thepresence of metering orifice 54. A manner of using only one valve inplace of valves E and H, and also using full line pressure to operatevalve B to either open or close is shown in FIG. 2.

In the arrangement of FIG. 2 a valve A leading from the main watersupply to the building may again be either manually opened or responsiveto heat from a fire within the building. Line 110 leads from valve A toseparating point 112 from which lines 114, 116 and 118 extend. Line 118leads to foam tank C from which line 120 extends to separating point122. From separating point 122 lines 124 and 126 extend respectively toflow proportioning devices 130 and 132 through metering orifices 134 and136. Line 114 leads to separating point 140 from which lines 142 and 144extend respectively to flow proportioning devices 132 and 130. Line 146extends from flow proportioning device 130 to foam generator K. Line 148extends from flow proportioning device 132 to automatic valve B, fromwhich line 150 extends to foam generators D. From the main water supplythrough valve A and separating point 112, line 116 leads to separatingpoint 152 from which lines 154 and 156 extend. Line 154 leads to afour-way cylinder-operated valve M which is operated to change itsoutlet ports by pressure acting against the end of the cylinder. Thecylinder valve M is normally positioned so that water flowing to valve Mthrough line 154 exhausts to line 160 which is connected to cylinder end162 of valve B. The other cylinder end 164 of valve B is connected withvalve M through line 166. An exhaust line 168 from valve M is open toatmosphere and defines an exhaust. Also connected with the main watersupply by way of line 156 through metering orifice 170 is retard chamberJ. Retard chamber J is connected through line 172 to cylinder end 174 ofvalve M.

In operation of the embodiment of FIG. 2, water flowing from the mainsupply through valve A, line 110, line 116, line 154, through valve Mand line 160 to cylinder end 162 of valve B causes valve B to open dueto pressure exerting against cylinder end 162 from line 160. Water alsoflows through line 118 to foam tank C and forces foam producing solutionthrough line 120, through line 126 and metering orifice 136 to flowproportioning device 132. Foam liquid is also forced through line 124and metering orifice 134 to proportioning device 130. Water flowing fromthe main supply through lines 114, 142 and 144 to flow proportioningdevices and 132 is then mixed with the foam producing solution fromlines 124 and 126 and exits through line 146 to foam generator K, andthrough line 148, through valve B to line and foam generators D. Asufficient number of foam generators D plus K may be provided tocompletely fill the building or room with foam in a calculated timeperiod such as around 4 minutes. To completely stop foam generation fromthe main foam generators D once the building or room is filled with foamretard chamber J is provided. Chamber J is of such a size that thevolume of flow through metering orifice 170 will fill chamber J within acalculated time period such as around 4 minutes. Once chamber J isfilled line 172 becomes pressurized and pressure is exerted againstcylinder end 174 of valve M to shift the cylinder and connect line withexhaust line 168 and inlet line 154 with line 166. By connecting line160 with exhaust line 168 pressure against cylinder end 162 of valve Bis relieved. At the same time, connecting inlet line 154 with line 166creates a pressure against cylinder end 164 of valve B to close valve B.Water can then no longer flow through valve B to foam generators D. Inorder to keep the room or building filled with foam once foam generatorsD are turned off there may be provided a small supplemental foamgenerator K. Foam generator K is connected with the main water supplythrough line 144 ahead of valve B so that it continues to operate andreceive foam liquid from tank C after valve B is closed. The foamgenerator K then keeps operating at a slow rate to replace the foamwithin the room which is naturally dissipated. The system of FIG. 2 maybe reset by draining chamber J through valve 157 to relieve pressure inall the lines which will return the system to the original position.

FIG. 3 shows an arrangement for replacing retard chamber J with avolumetric flow measuring device. In this arrangement a line 200 may beconnected directly in the line leading from valve A and with dischargeline 202 leading either to the foam generators or foam tank C. Line 200can also be connected in a branch line from the main water supplythrough valve A and a metering orifice with line 202 simply leading to awaste discharge area. Water flowing through line 200 at a controlledrate drives turbine wheel 204 of turbine drive device P at a constantrate. Turbine wheel 204 is connected with an output shaft 208 connectedwith a reduction gearing transmission S which has an output shaft 210 onwhich 220 is secured. Reduction gearing transmission S may be arrangedso that cam 220 is rotated one revolution in a predetermined period oftime such as around 4 minutes. A manual setting device T for valve M mayinclude a mounting member 222 slidable holding rod 224 which is attachedto cylinder 226 of valve M at cylinder end 174. Rod 224 may include alever 227 adapted to be manually grasped and having laterally extendingpin 228 at its other end. A latch member 230 pivoted at 232 is springbiased counterclockwise by spring 234. Latch member 230 may have anotched portion 236 at one end and a roller 238 at its other end. Rod224 may have a nut or stop 240 fixed thereon at one side of a mountingmember 222 to abut against end 239 of mounting member 222. A coil spring242 on mounting member 222 normally biases rod 224 to the right as shownin FIG. 3. Lever 227 may be grasped in a persons hand to move rod 224 tothe left against the force of spring 242. This moves cylinder 226 ofvalve M to a position in which line 154 is connected with line 160 andline 166 is connected with exhaust line 168. Rod 224 and piston 226 areheld in this position by notched portion 236 of latch member 230engaging pin 228. When valve A is open to supply liquid to main foamgenerators D, water flowing through lines 200 and 202 drives turbinewheel 204 to rotate cam 220 at a predetermined rate such as around onerevolution every 4 minutes. Cam 220 may be manually set so that camprojection 220 is adjacent roller 238 when the system is initiated. Cam220 rotates so that the projection 220 must make a complete revolutionbefore coming into contact with roller 238 on its other side. Once camprojection 250 hits roller 238 it causes latch member 230 to pivotclockwise and release pin 228 from notched portion 236. This frees rod224 for movement to the right under force of spring 242 and shiftscylinder'226 of valve M so that line 154 will be connected with line 166and line 160 willbe connected with exhaust line 168 as previouslydescribed with reference to FIG. 2.

While valves such as B, E, H and M are conventional and well known tothose skilled in the art a general and somewhat diagrammatic showing oftheir manner of operation is given in FIGS. 4-6. FIG. 4 shows valve Eincluding a cylindrical housing 300 closed at end 302 and communicatingwith water lines 67 at cylinder end 68. A cylinder or piston W ismounted for axial sliding movement within housing 302. Cylinder Wincludes rather wide reduced diameter portions 304 and 306 and ringportions 308, 310 and 312 which are a sliding tight fit within housing300 and may include gaskets to insure a good sliding seal against theinner walls of housing 300. Cylinder W is normally biased to the rightas shown in FIG. 4 by spring 314 acting against cylinder W. Water thenflows into housing 300 by means of line 38 and around reduced diameterportion 304 between rings 308 and 310 to outlet line 42. When pressureis built up in line 66 at cylinder end 68 the water pressure actsagainst end 316 of cylinder W to shift cylinder W to the left againstthe force of spring 314. This moves ring 310 to the left side of outlet42 and closes off communication between inlet 38 and outlet 42. Waterpressure acting against end 316 of cylinder W is prevented fromexhausting through outlet 42 by ring 312.

FIG. 5 shows the same type of valve only it is normally closed. In thisarrangement spring 314 biases cylinder W to the right whereincommunication between line 46 and 52 is prevented by ring 310. Pressurein line 70 at cylinder end 72 of valve H acts against end 316 ofcylinder W to shift cylinder W to the left against spring 314 and movering 310 to the left of exhaust outlet 52. This allows communicationbetween line 46 and 52 around reduced diameter portion 306 between rings310 and 312.

FIG. 6 shows valve M including cylindrical housing 318 having a closedend 319 and a cylinder end 174 communicating with line 172. A piston orcylinder Y is mounted within housing 318 for axial sliding movement.Cylinder Y includes .spaced ring portions 320, 322, 324, and 326,separating reduced diameter portions 330, 332 and 334. Spring 340 actingagainst the inside of end 319 of housing 318 also acts against end 342of cylinder Y and holds cylinder Y in a leftward position. In thisposition, inlet 154 communicates around reduced diameter portion 332between rings 322 and 324 with outlet 160. At the same time, outlet 166communicates around reduced diameter portion 334 between rings 324 and326 with connecting line 344 to exhaust 168. Pressure in line 172 atcylinder end 174 acts against end 346 of cylinder Y to shift cylinder Yto the right against the force of spring 340. Ring 322 then moves to theright of outlet and ring 324 moves to the right of outlet 166. Inlet 154then communicates with outlet 166 around reduced diameter portion 322between rings 322 and 324 while exhaust line 344 is separated fromoutlet 166 by ring 324. At the same time, outlet 160 is connected withexhaust line 168 by connecting line 348 around reduced diameter portion330 between rings 320 and 322. It will be understood that valve B can beof the same general type as described for valve M only without ring 340and without exhaust lines 344 and 348, end 319 of valve M would thenhave another water connection inlet just as at cylinder end 174 for line172.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that many.

other arrangements could be made such as a float within chamber Jmechanically connected with valve M or even directly with valve B. Also,the mechanical arrangement of FIG. 3 could eliminate valve M byconnecting directly to valve D and making valve B a normally closedvalve which is held open by the mechanical linkage for only apredetermined time such as around 4 minutes until it is closed by cam220 acting against latch 230. It will also be recognized that anarrangement such as shown in FIG. 3 could be used to bend apiezoelectric crystal by means of projection 250 on cam 220 for sendinga voltage signal to an electrically operated valve. It is also possibleto have lines such as 160 and 166 in FIG. 2 connected to a separatesource of air pressure through valve M rather than with the main waterpressure through line 154.

It should be understood that the embodiment of FIG. 2 is a preferredarrangement and the other embodiments have been shown merely to showother obvious but somewhat less desirable systems. It will be recognizedthat obvious modifications and alterations of the arrangements describedwill occur to those skilled in the art upon the reading andunderstanding of the specification.

We claim:

1. A fire protection system including liquid discharge devices connectedwith a source of liquid under pressure through automatic valve meanshaving open and closed positions, said automatic valve means beingpressure-operated to open and pressure-operated to close and having apressure opening connection and a pressure closing connection, liquidpressure source means connected to said automatic valve means,hydraulically actuated timing means connected with said source of liquidthrough metering flow means and with said automatic valve means, saidhydraulically actuated timing means including control valve meansconnected between said liquid pressure source means and said automaticvalve means, said control valve being operated by a predetermined flowof liquid from said source of liquid under pressure to selectivelyconnect said liquid pressure source means with one of said pressureopening and closing connections on said automatic valve means and torelease pressure from the other of said connections.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said control valve means comprises asingle four-way valve.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said hydraulic timing means comprises achamber receiving liquid from said source of liquid and said controlvalve means is pressure operated, said control valve means beingconnected with said chamber and being responsive to pressure developedby a predetermined fiow of liquid from said source of liquid into saidchamber to operate and open said liquid pressure source means to saidone connection and release pressure from said other connection.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein said control valve means comprises asingle four-way valve and said source of liquid is selectively directlyconnected to either said pressure closing connection or said pressureopening connection of said automatic valve means through said four-wayvalve, said four-way valve normally connecting said source of liquidwith said pressure opening connection and connecting said source ofliquid with said pressure closing connection upon operation of saidfour-way valve by pressure from said chamber.

1. A fire protection system including liquid discharge devices connectedwith a source of liquid under pressure through automatic valve meanshaving open and closed positions, said automatic valve means beingpressure-operated to open and pressure-operated to close and having apressure opening connection and a pressure closing connection, liquidpressure source means connected to said automatic valve means,hydraulically actuated timing means connected with said source of liquidthrough metering flow means and with said automatic valve means, saidhydraulically actuated timing means including control valve meansconnected between said liquid pressure source means and said automaticvalve means, said control valve being operated by a predetermined flowof liquid from said source of liquid under pressure to selectivelyconnect said liquid pressure source means with one of said pressureopening and closing connections on said automatic valve means and torelease pressure from the other of said connections.
 2. The system ofclaim 1 wherein said control valve means comprises a single four-wayvalve.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein said hydraulic timing meanscomprises a chamber receiving liquid from said source of liquid and saidcontrol valve means is pressure operated, said control valve means beingconnected with said chamber and being responsive to pressure developedby a predetermined flow of liquid from said source of liquid into saidchamber to operate and open said liquid pressure source means to saidone connection and release pressure from said other connection.
 4. Thesystem of claim 2 wherein said control valve means comprises a singlefour-way valve and said source of liquid is selectively directlyconnected to either said pressure closing connection or said pressureopening connection of said automatic valve means through said four-wayvalve, said four-way valve normally connecting said source of liquidwith said pressure opening connection and connecting said source ofliquid with said pressure closing connection upon operation of saidfour-way valve by pressure from said chamber.